Scientists Conduct Unusual Experiment With Fake Dolphins To Help Save Real Ones in the Wild

Scientists often come up with creative experiments to learn more about marine life and underwater ecosystems. From tracking how different species of sharks respond to different sounds to studying how some fish interact with artificial structures, these studies often capture the public's attention. In one such creative and unusual experiment, scientists decided to place a large number of fake dolphin carcasses on an island located off Alabama’s coast. The ultimate goal was to help in the conservation of actual dolphins. This approach allowed the scientists to gather valuable information without harming the real dolphins in any way.

When dolphins and other marine animals wash ashore, their remains can reveal a lot about what led to their deaths. But scientists are currently trying to figure out how often these carcasses are even found and reported to the officials, whether by experts or by the general public. To observe where people are most likely to spot and report stranded dolphins, experts came up with the idea of using fake dolphins. The findings of the study were revealed in a study titled, ‘Stranded marine mammal detection by the public, trained responders, and drones using decoy carcasses.’ This was published in the journal Marine Mammal Science.

The scientists and researchers joined hands with the University of South Alabama’s theater department to create 12 life-sized dolphin models, all using eco-friendly materials filled with sand. The fake carcasses were then placed across different spots on Dauphin Island, including busy beaches, quiet ones, and marshy areas, as reported by Discover Wildlife. They were left on the beaches for a week at a time, both during the busy tourist season and when the island was rather calm during the offseason. Each of these decoys had a tag with a phone number written on it, and a note asking anyone who found it to call in and not move it from the place.

Researchers also deployed trained teams with drones and other equipment to help spot the decoys from the ground and air. Jennifer Bloodgood, one of the authors of the study, spoke about the findings and said, “The public only found 58% of the decoy dolphins overall, so that tells us a lot about the potential real number of actual stranded dolphins.” That means, for every 100 dolphins discovered, nearly twice that number might go unreported every year. During the experiment, people spotted about half of the fake dolphins during the off-season and two-thirds during the busy months, but only 17% in the marshlands.

Trained staff, who used drones and other equipment, had much better results, finding 75% of the decoys in the off-season and 83% during peak season. These findings helped scientists understand how to search more effectively for real stranded dolphins. According to Bloodgood, the public can help spot them on busy beaches during peak season, while trained teams and drones work best in remote areas, as reported by Mongabay. Bloodgood said, “If we don’t know how many animals are stranded in the first place, it makes it difficult to try and estimate and extrapolate deaths to larger population numbers.”